Passengers have criticised what they describe as 'dangerously overcrowded' trains between Wales and London. One traveller on a Great Western Railway (GWR) service from Cardiff Central to Paddington shared a photo of her carriage, showing people crammed into the aisles without seats.
Passenger describes packed journey
Jo Kiernan said the 16.21 service to London Paddington on Bank Holiday Monday was already full when it arrived at Cardiff. Most passengers boarding at Cardiff had to stand all the way to Reading.
Posting on X, she said it was not the first time she had travelled on an overcrowded GWR service to Paddington. She said GWR should be "ashamed" at its failure to run a good service for passengers.
"You ought to be ashamed of yourselves GW. Train from Cardiff to London is five carriages instead of 10 and there are far too many people standing and crammed into the doorways. It is dangerous and the second time it has happened to me in four days," she wrote.
GWR responds to criticism
GWR replied on X that the safety of passengers was a priority and it would not run an unsafe service.
"Our trains are designed to accommodate standing passengers," GWR said.
But Jo pointed out that "given the price we pay for your tickets we deserve a better service than standing for two hours."
Her post on X drew a flurry of replies from similarly frustrated passengers who had experienced overcrowded services run by GWR and other rail operators. Some said anyone forced to stand should receive 50% off their ticket, while others called for compensation for overcrowded trains. Some also complained that reservations made on the Cardiff to Paddington service are not always honoured.
Apology and compensation offer
A GWR spokesperson said: "We're sorry to customers travelling between Cardiff and London who experienced a busier train than usual.
"This service ran with five coaches instead of the planned ten because of a fault affecting coupling with the other carriages in Swansea - which meant we were unable to provide the full-length train in time."
"We understand how frustrating this is and we're sorry for the inconvenience caused. Customers who held a valid seat reservation but were unable to use it are entitled to compensation under our Seat Guarantee scheme, and we'd encourage anyone affected to contact our customer support team."
GWR said it runs around 30 services each way, every day between Cardiff and London Paddington.
